I am of the opinion that we do not have to choose between learning how to read or speak, write or understand. My approach is holistic, giving attention to all of the above so that the student is not simply prepared for college or university, but equipped with a valuable life skill that will open untold doors.
This is an original, proprietary curriculum I have created myself, drawing on my years of experience using public school curricula as well as my own experiences and observations. We will not use a physical textbook; the core curriculum consists of recorded video presentations introducing all new concepts as well as reviewing previous material. Students are expected to have a high level of engagement and commitment to self- study.
Each week the students will be given assignments that should take between four and six hours per week to complete. There will also be a weekly quiz over the material of the week, as well as quarterly review tests, also online.
The student will watch a weekly video lecture by David, then work on the assignments which will consist of written, oral, reading, and listening exercises, accommodating multiple learning styles.
About the teacher
I have been a lover of languages all my life, having studied seven foreign languages to varying degrees. French is my strongest of these languages, so you are getting the very best I have to offer: two degrees in French, six years of living in a French-speaking country, forty plus years of speaking the language, and approximately ten years of teaching experience. I am told that my passion for the language as well as love of learning come through in every class I teach. My commitment to you is that you will receive as good or better an education in the French language as any public or private school or tutorial. The obvious variables are the amount of work and commitment you put into it. If you give yourself, you will come out capable of carrying on a basic conversation in French.
I also teach French and Spanish at the Academy Tutorial in Nashville, where my wife, Becky, teaches World Geography and we co-teach Global Studies. We also conduct the annual or semi-annual World to the Wise Cultural Tours.
Your Instructor
David Durham is a student of the world. Born in the United States, he has also lived seventeen years of his life outside the US, and views the world through an international lens. He has been a language language learner all his life, is conversant in six foreign languages and currently working on his seventh.
In addition to being a language freak, David is the creator and host of the World to the Wise podcast, where his guests tell compelling stories about crossing cultural bridges of various kinds. He and his wife also lead cultural tours to Europe. You can read more about the podcast and the tours, as well as read David's blog, at DavidDurham.org.
David and his wife Rebecca are the proud parents of three sons, three daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren, and live in Nashville, Tennessee.